Restructuring the Wage Theft Program

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The Miami-Dade County Wage Theft Program (Program) was adopted in 2010 in response to a growing nationwide problem that undermines the economic security and dignity of workers, deprives local economies of vital stimulus flowing from consumer spending, and which simultaneously divests federal, state and local governments of tax revenues while increasing public assistance expenditures as a consequence of unpaid or underpaid wages. Following transfer of administration in January 2013 to the Office of Consumer Protection (RER-CP), the Program was extensively re-engineered, producing measurable outcomes benefiting both RER-CP and constituents: hearing costs were reduced by 70%; the complaint caseload was seamlessly absorbed into the existing workload of the Consumer Mediation Center (CMC), thus eliminating personnel costs associated with having dedicated staffers for the Program; complaint intake forms were clarified and streamlined; complaint activity was incorporated into RER-CP’s new data management system developed in-house called CAVU, making it easier for staff to confirm service of process and compliance with the Code’s threshold requirements for the Program, thus enabling staffers to focus on educating constituents about the Program and conciliating wage theft complaints on their behalf – all of which resulted in the average conciliation more than doubling from 2012 to 2013.